Comments

Show Name: Art Fiesta New Smyrna Beach
City and State: New Smyrna Beach, FL
Your Medium: Glass
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2011
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 2-3 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 5001-10,000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
The promoters are very involved with this event, accomodating and helpful. There is community support, and the event has been around long enough that locals look forward to it.

Lovely park setting, great local entertainment which was a supplement to the art not the focus of the event. I'm not sure if the close-by parking lot produce market helped or detracted.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
This is a beach/visitor community where mostly small (packable) items do well. This Fiesta is two weeks after the "big" show of Images giving it the flavor of the "also ran."

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
With very little to no buy/sell in evidence, mostly mid- to upper level crafts and jewelry do well. Most high-end art would do better at Images a couple of weeks prior.

As all are, this show is highly dependent on weather, and February in Florida is iffy.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
Great fill-in if in the area, but I'm not sure I would want to travel for it. Wide variance between artist's sales that I can't figure out. Two photographers with virtually the same type of work -- one did well and can't wait to return, one considered leaving early.

Show Name: Art Fiesta
City and State: New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Your Medium: Jewelry
Year you most recently exhibited at this Show: 2011
Your Estimated Sales at this Show: $501-$2000
Number of Years You have Exhibited in this Show: 3-5 times
Attendance: (1 is poor, 5 is great) 4
Location: 4
Facilities: 3
Ease of Participating: 4
Sales: 4
Overall: 4
Booth Fee vs. Your Sales Ratio: Good
Estimated Attendance: 1001-5000 people

Good Things about this Art Fair:
My loading in was easy as I was on Washington St. Others in the center of the Old Fort Park had a haul, but on concrete paths.

The locals really support this and come out even in rain and cold. This year we had beautiful beach weather and could watch lots of people going over the bridge to the beach.

Jurying-in is first come, first serve and then they close out the entries. It is arts and crafts, not just fine art, although there is quite a bit of fine art. My neighbor Carol Napoli won again this year and Greg, my neighbor on the other side won a prize, too!

My sales were down about 20% over last year, but I again had repeat customers. Many of whom were heading back north soon.

I keep doing this show because my sales increase every year. Except, of course, this year which just matched what I made my first year there.

Bad Things about this Art Fair:
Loading in for those in the interior of the park is hard.

Under the trees really gets your tent dirty.
It may not be worth doing if you are coming from a long distance just for this show. It may be a nice fill-in if you are down here for other shows.

I've never known anyone to make much more than $1500. (Of course maybe I'm not talking to the big sellers) I live in the area and it is only an hour away.

Advice to Other Artists Considering this Show:
Apply immediately when you get your application. They are mailed out at Thanksgiving. It closes early.

Images, a fine art show, has now been moved to the end of Jan. which is good. It used to be 2 weeks before Art Fiesta.

Additional Commentary on this Show:
The church on the corner gives artist breaks and also provides coffee and donuts and bagels in the morning. They also have a trolley/shuttle that carries you to the family life center for a break and more coffee. Nice people.